Skin cleansing agents have been used for many years for removing soil from the human body. In the constant process of improving appearance, health and odor, additives have been added to cleansing formulations. Examples of additives include emollients for better skin conditioning and feel, synthetic surfactants for better lathering and/or mildness, and antibacterial agents. These antibacterial agents cause reduction of bacteria living on the skin thereby bringing about a potentially healthier surface as well as reduced odor arising from the bacteria. A number of antibacterial agents have been developed and employed in cleansing formulations over the years, including hexachlorophene, halogenated carbanilides and halogenated and hydroxy substituted diphenylethers. These substances have been used with a variety of surfactants in various formulations. Such surfactants include soaps e.g. fatty acid carboxylate salts such as sodium stearate, potassium palmitate and the like, long chain alkyl sulfates such as sodium lauryl sulfate and potassium palimityl sulfate; long chain alkyl sulfonates such as sodium lauryl sulfonate and derivatives thereof such as sodium cocoylisethionate; alkylsulfosuccinates such as sodium octyl sulfosuccinate, and the like. Additional well known surfactants such as alkyl glyceryl sulfonate, also known as AGES, have also been employed.
Certain combinations of various surfactants and antibacterial agents are disclosed as providing greater antibacterial activity than the antibacterial agent alone. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,844 discloses that certain chlorinated orthohydroxyldiphenylethers in combination with specific surfactants such as alkylsulfonates, alkylsulfates, alkylnaphthalene sulphonates and dialkylsulfosuccinates when used in certain ratios provide better antibacterial activity than the antibacterial agent alone. Triclosan is the preferred antibacterial agent. Other combinations of surfactants and antibacterial agents are shown in the following patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,006,529--discloses combinations of soap, cocoylisethionate salt, isethionate salt, free fatty acid and triclosan in certain ratios.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,954.281--discloses combinations of soap, alkyl glycerol ether sulfonate and triclosan in certain ratios, with or without free fatty acid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,861--discloses combinations of soap, cocoylisethionate salt, isethionate salt, free fatty acid and triclosan in certain ratios.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,723,326--discloses combinations of soap wherein greater than 50% of the metal ion is potassium, free fatty acid, opacifying agent, alkyl cellulose, and a mixture of triclosan, a trichloro carbanilide and a dichloro trifluoromethyl carbanilide in certain ratios.
GB 1,197,817 discloses combinations of soap and mixtures of triclosan, trichlorocarbanilide, and dichlorotrifluoromethylcarbanilide.
A new combination of specific surfactants and antibacterial agents has been discovered which brings about greater antibacterial activity than the antibacterial agent without the-suffactant(s).